1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club and more particularly to a golf putter.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the United States Golf Association (USGA)—the national governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico—a club is an implement designed to be used for striking a ball and generally comes in four forms: woods, irons, hybrids, and putters. The words “wood,” “iron,” and hybrid do not necessarily refer to the material the club is made out of, but rather to the general shape of the club head. A wood club is one where the head is relatively broad from face to back, and it can be made of materials such as titanium, steel or wood. An iron club is one where the head is relatively narrow from face to back, and it is usually made of steel. A hybrid club is a cross between a wood and an iron and is generally larger from front to back than an iron club, but smaller than a wood club. In general, a club is composed of a head and a shaft and conforms to the “plain in shape” rule of the USGA. More specifically, by definition, a putter is a club primarily designed for use on a putting green with a loft that must not exceed ten degrees; a club with a loft greater than ten degrees is normally regarded as an iron club.
In general, a putter can fall into one of two categories—traditional putter and long putter. The traditional putter usually can range in length from thirty inches to thirty-seven inches and can include a grip between ten and eleven inches in length. The long putter can range from forty inches to fifty-two inches long and can also include up to two grips, one about thirteen inches long and another about five and one half inches long. Most standard putters have a total mass of about five hundred twenty two grams.
Characteristics of an individual putter, such as length, overall mass, head mass, and head design can affect the playing characteristics of a putter, for instance, distance and accuracy, and the “feel” of a putter. For instance, the direction of a putt is dictated by the path of the club head and the face angle at impact. A ball travels farthest when the center of gravity of the club head or “sweet spot” of a putter strikes the ball as opposed to when a putt is off-center towards either the heel or toe.
Golf course improvements have lead to “faster” greens, meaning a golf ball will roll farther with any given amount of applied force. “Faster” greens require a golfer to have an increased sensitivity for better control when putting. In addition, smaller or slower strokes may be required for these “faster” greens, which increase the likelihood that a golfer may have a jerky stroke. The stroke of a golfer could also suffer from insufficient acceleration in the attempt to control the area of impact between the golf ball and the putter. A jerky stroke and insufficient acceleration can lead to directional problems. Attempts have been made to overcome these issues by redistributing the weight of a club head and by adding weight to the shaft. But these methods have not been able to provide a golfer with optimum stability and sensitivity.